Conveyer and piler for large sheets



W. A. LACKE CONVEYER AND PILER FOR LARGE SHEETS Filed June 5. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 28, 1923. M6617? VV. A. LACKE n CONVEYER AND PILER FOR LARGE SHEETS Filed June 5, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l A e o (y v o v O 6250/ f 70 50 man? ib..." (a

WIL A. LACKE, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CONVEYER PILER FOB LARGE` SHEETS.

application led June I3,

To all whom t may camera.'

Be it know-n that l, WILLIAM A. LACKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago,in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Conveyors 4and Pilers for Large Sheets, .ofi-which the foll lowing is a speciiiCatiOn.

This invention, a mechanism for conveying large heavy sheetsfof material from lone point to another and then accurately piling them, is especially adaptable for use in handling large hot metal sheets in the general mechanism for corrugating freight car ends and' the like shown, described and lclaimed ,in my prior atent application, Serial No. 466,184, filed i ay 2, 1921.

The invention consists in conveyer mechanism controlled by an operator standing at a distance adapted to convey sheets of metal in a step by stepl motion, thus giving them time to cool at the end of each step, from one vpoint to another distant point where they are to be piled and in means for then getting the plates o5 from the conveyer mechanism into an accuratelv formed pile from which :they can be readi y removed by a crane'and the like. f Specically the invention consists in many features and details of construction hereafter more ful-ly set forth in the specification and claims.

Referring to Ythe drawings in which like numerals designate' the/same parts thruout the several views. Figure 1 is a general planof the mechanism of this invention shown applied to and used in oonnectionwith the general mechanism of said'prior application.

Figure 2 is a sectional'de'tail view on the no line '2-2, Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side view of the sheet moving mechanism taken at approximately the line 33, of Figure 1.

Figure d is an end view of the conveying es mechanism Ytaken at approximately the arrow designated f1 in Figure 1, showing a side View, .of a sheet piling mechanism in the pcmft'ion its parte assume when they are just ready to deliver a sheet rom"the conoo ve er to the pile. i

igure 5 is a changed position view of.. Fi re a showing the sheets being piled.

i `igure A6in an end view taken on the line 6-6 ,*`igure 4.

en Figure 7 is a sectional detail view of a ySerial No.. 471,708, the metal sheets 16 are .ordinarily supplied for the mechanism of 1921. sean no. 474,795.

control valve used in operating the mechamsm.

As is fully set fprth in said prior application and in another copending application,

this invention by delivery from a corrugating press 10 onto and along supporting rails 12 to position 16, the sheets being pulled along, one at a time, to said position by gripping tong machanism-14-15 fully described in said applications.

' The problem of this invention is to convey the plates one at a time from position 16 thru the successivel positions 161,16", 16, and 16d to position 16e where they are piled; giving suliicient time in each position so `that 4a practically Ared hot plate in position 16 is cool enough in position 16e for piling. In accomplishing this object a pair of stationary rails 18 are permanently mounted: on supports 20 and 22. They extend from a point close to a plate 16 on rails 12 to-a point adjacent to the piling inecl'ianism. lnside the rail `18, parallel to them, and longitudinally slidable across the supports 20, are two other rails or bars 24 having their upper surfaces slightly below the tops of the rails 18 (Figure 3) so that these rails 20 may be freely reciprocated backwards and forward under plates 16 resting in the various positions on the rails 18.. These two rails 24 are ermanentlylattached to a crosshead 26, reciprocatable by the movement of the piston rod 28 under the control of a 9o piston 30 movable in the horizontal cylinder4 32 adapted to be controlled by an operator, who by suitable mechanism, not entering into this invention causes the admissionand discharge of air through supply pipe 34 leading to the cylinder.r Cylinder 32 is of such a length that the crosshead 26 and consequently the rails 2li travel a distance equal to the distances between. the successive positions 16, 16a,etc., of the plates along the loo rails 18. 'The rails. 24 carry a ratchet dog 36, normally pressed upward byA sprin 38 to the position shown in Figure 3 in w iich the working point 38 of the dog will engage the edge of an adjacent plate 16 restingon 105 rails 18. The springs areof such a tension that'whcn rails 24 are linoved to the left as viewed in Figure-3 the dogs 36 push the plates they then engage and when therails 2li are moved to the right they click under any 110 plate which may be above them. lhese dogs Aabove as sh'ownl in Figure 1, the operator 'now admits air into the cylinder 32 to drive the iston 30 downward as viewed in Figure l, t us carrying the rails 24, consequently lthe end dogs 26 and plate 16 attached to them and the plaie 16 resting against those dogs downward as viewed in Figure 1 until late 16 reaches the position 16a of Figure 1.

he operator now reverses the direction or' motion of piston 30 with the result that the dogs 36a, which had until this time been always below plate 16 as viewed in Figure 1,

slide under the plate in position 16l without moving it, viz, move under it. from the position of 36b to the position of 36, at the same 'time that the en'd dogs 86 are returning to vthe normal position of Figure 1 ready to receive a new plate. When a second plate 1s now placed in the position 16, and the cylinder is again operated to move the rails 24 downward, dogs 86? carry the first original plate from positions 16a to position 16bfand.

the end dogs 36 carry the second plate from position. 16 to positions 16a. (in again manipulating the cylinder mechanism to cause u ward movement oivrails 24 as viewed in liqigure l, each pair of the dogs which are below any adjacent plate asy viewed in Figure 1, slip under it until they are above that plate and are ready to pull it downward on the next movement of the rails 24 downward. Repeating the operation ultimately puts a plate in each of thel positions 16 to 16, whereupon they are moved, step by step by the mechanism described in a continuous procession so long as plates'are supplied at position 16 and removed at position 16e.

While we have. described rails 24 as always moved to extremeY upward position betere a plate is moved to position 16, nevertheless the placing of plates does not-have to wait for the positioning of the rails because on any. upward movement of rails 24 the end dogs 36 will sli under a plate,'either in posit-ion 16 or w ile being there positioned, just as the other dogs slip under their-adjacent plates as described. rthe movable rails 24 are so positioned with reference tothe air cylinder 32 that the lower ends of the rails as seen in Figure 1 only advance beyond the ends of the rail 18 and therefore neverr i11- terfere with the plate in position 16e as it drops to position 16E, as hereafter described. lEach of these rails 24 is however, equipped ineen?? -ateits lower end, as viewed in Figure 1, with latch do s 36 which, as shown in Figure l, engage t e plate in position 16@ and as the rails are moved toward the piling mechanism carry the plate off from the rails 18 into the position 16e.

At the end o`f the path vot travel of the plates, as described,-and so located as to handle the plate delivered to a piling` mechanism which will now be described. I

rlransversely of the end ofrails. 18 (the lower ends' as viewed in Figure 1) are placed suitable foundation supports 40 and 42 across which are mounted low level rails 44 running in the same general direction as rails 18 on which the final pile of plates 16E rest until`such time as they are carried away by a crane or other mechanism not entering into this invention. 'lhe supports 40 and 42 are on opposite sides ot pit 46 below the rails 44. Un the bottom of this pit and 011 opposite sides of the rails 44 are suitably secured base castings 48, each having piv- -oted to it at 50 an upwardly extending swinging lever arm 52 having in the upper' portion an outwardly/curved lil-shaped section 52 adapted to pass around and clear the ends 54 oit' the pile of plates 16f said desi ation being applied to the piled body of p ates which result from dropping the lates one at a time from theposition 16 dbwnward.

As clearly shown in Figure 1 there are two of these vertically extending levers 52 at each-end of plates in the position 16 so that, as shown in Figure 2, supports are formed at all four corners of the pile of plates whenever said levers are swung to upright position, as shown in Figure 4. lVhen, however, these levers are swung outwardly from the center of the 'plate to the position shown in Figure 5, they leave sailicient clearance between levers on opposite ends of the plates so that a plate in position 16e can drop vertically onto the pile 16.

@ne of the problems of the invention is to provide means for swinging the levers 52 outward from under a plate 16e with suiiicient rapidity so that the plate is not disturbed by the movement ot the lever and can fall into the pile.. ln accomplishing this object a pair of op ositely disposed air cylinders 56 are place upon suitable base supports 58, standing on the bottoni ot pit 46. Extending from each cylinder toward its adjacent end ot the pit 46 is a piston rod 60, carrying a crosshead 62 pivotally connected to the two lever arms 52 at that particular` end of the pit. The levers 52 are normally drawn inward trom the position of Figure 5 to that of Fi re 4 vby a spring mechanism 64 provided or the purpose. 'lhey are moved outward against the action of such spring mechanism whenever osition 16P is l lill@ iso amai?? air is admitted .to the ends of the cylinders 56 from which the piston rods do not projectbehind the pistons 66. Means for so admitting air behind each piston is provided thru a pipe 68 which enters the proper end of each of the cylinders 60, as clearly shown in Figure 4. The one pipe 68 supplying both cylinders is fed with air, or other working agent from any suitable source by a main supply pipe 70. 'Intermediate of pipe 70 is 1placed a special valve mechanism shown in igure 7 which includes al case 72, a valve 74, normally pressed onto its seat by spring 76 and provided on its opposite ends with a piston rod 78 terminating in the piston 80 reciprocatable in air chamber -82 formed in the case 72, there being provided a pipe 84 leadin to the side of iston 80 which is opposite o? the valve 74. hen an operator admits com ressed air, perhaps from the same sourc-e o power as that used for pipe 70 itself, thru. pipe 84 to piston 80, valve 74 which is smaller than piston 8O is moved violently from its seat, thereby making a clear passage thru pipe 70 and the chambers 86 and 88 of the valve mechanism. Air now rushes violently from the source of supply, thru pipe 70 and pipe 68 -into the respective cylinders 56 to thus move pistons 66 violently away from the center line of the it 46 and consequently throw the upwardrly extending lever arm 52 quickly from the position of Figure 4 to that of Figure 5, thereupon allowing theI plate in position 16e to drop, always in positions parallel to itself, into 'the pile l6f.

In order to prevent the cylinder mechanism from tearing itself to pieces, due to the violence of the outward movement of the pistons, as described, each cylinder is provided intermediate of its length with a plurality of air holes 90 so that the air in front of the piston has a free chance to escape until .these air holes are reached and that the pistons are cushioned as they pass over and beyond these air holes.

In the operation of this part of the mechanism, the operator manipulates the air control by turning a suitable valve, for instance valve 92 in pipe 84, so that valve 74 is closed and the lever arm 52 is in thetfull line position of Figure 4, and leaves the device in that position until the plate conveying mechanism previously described, places a plate in position 16e. When this happens, the operator manipulates valve 92 to quickly open valve 74, thus moving the plate support and levers 52 outward to the position of Figure 5, thus allowing the plate to drop to position .16 -Ju'st as soon as the plate passes the upper ends of the levers the operator reverses the process and closes valve- 74, whereupon the springs 64v return the su porting lever in position of Figure 4 rea to receive another plate. This operation is .plate from the press to repeated aftereach plate is delivered to positionv16e until a suitable pile offplates l16 is produced whereupon they are removed by a traveling crane or other suitable mechamsm. v.

, In the operation of the complete mechanism the tong gripping mechanism 14--15 travels alongrail 94 toward and'from the press 10 to at each reciprocation carry a osition 16 on the conve er. Fromthis position the plates are move step by ste reciprocation of t e rails 24 carrying the upwardly swinging latch-dog 36 in the inanner described.v As the conveyer mechanism delivers each plate to position. 16" it is dropped down to the pile 16t in the manner described., All this may be accomplished by an operator standing at a distance and manipulating the control devices .of pipes 34 and 84 thereby doing away with the danger and inconvenience occasioned by requiring workmen to manually manipulate these plates, particularly those of the size required for freight car ends.

The term air is used in the claims. to cover any motive luid capable ofo'perating the mechanism.

' Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is v along the conveyel by l. In mechanism of the class described, a i

pair of supporting members adapted to receive and support opposite ends of a plate and selective y controllable air cylinder mechanism for quickly separating said supporting members out from under said plate for the purposes set forth. l

2. In mechanism of the class described, a pair of upwardly extending spaced apart pivoted lever arms havin@ U-shaped recesses adapted to pass around the ends of a pile of plates, the upper ends of said lever arms being so positioned as to support a plate clear of and above said pile, and means for swinging said lever arms apart to allow the last mentioned plate to fall onto the pile, for ythe purposes set forth.

3. In mechanism of the class described, a pair of upwardly extending spaced apart pivoted lever arms having U-shaped recesses adapted to pass around the ends of a pile of plates, the upper ends of said lever arms being so positioned as to support a plate clear of and above said pile, a pair of oppositely positioned air cylinder mechanisms one for each of said levers, and means for quickly admitting air to said cylinders for the purpose of moving said levers away from each other, for the purposes set forth.

4. In mechanism of the class described, n pair of air cylinders, a pipe coneying air to said cylinders, a common valve controllin the air admitted to both of the cylinders, an a pneiimatically operated mechanism for in- -`enierginzgf from the casing from a different' A maar?? stantly unseating said Valve, 'for the purposes set forth.

5. lln mechanism 'of the class described, a valve casing, a main supply pipe entering one side of the casing, passing thru it, and

point, a valve inside the casingvcontrolling the passage of air from one of the main supply "pipe sources tothe other, a piston rod connected to said valve, a piston on said piston rod reciprocatable in a suitable cham.- her in the casing separate from the main air passage, and means for admitting air to said piston to move it to move said valve from its seat, `tor the purposes set forth.

G. ln mechanism 'of the class described, an air c linder having a reciprocatable piston therein, there being around the cylinder a plurality of openings spaced intermediate of the ends or the cylinder, and means for violently admittingair to the Working end of the cylinder, for the urposes set forth. v

7. ln mechanism or tjie class described, a pair of rails on which a plurality of plat/es 'may be placed to form a pile, a pair of oppositely disposed pivotally mountedivertical levers formed with 'til-shaped sections at its upper portions, adapted `topass around the end of 'the pile of plates 'on said rail, between two positions in one-ot which the upper ends of said levers support plate above said pile, andthe other of which the plate isallowed to -fall onto the pile, a pair of air cylinders lo.

cated below said first mentioned rail supv ports, a piston rod in each of said cylinders,

dle, a valve mechanism controlling the aclmission of air thru both of said cylinders, and means for opening said valves to full capacity substantially instantly, all the parts being arranged. and disposed as shownand described, for the purposes set forth.

lln Witness whereof, l have hereunto suhscriloed my name -in the presenceof two witnesses.

WILLlAM A. LACKE Witnesses:

DWIGHT B. Canevas, VELMA GRIFFITH, 

